13 charges laid in death of worker at Grande Prairie lumber mill
Man was fatally struck by pike pole as he attempted to clear a jam
Charges have been laid in the death of a man who was fatally injured on the job at a Grande Prairie lumber mill in the winter of 2023.
According to Alberta Occupational Health and Safety officials, Weyerhaeuser Company Limited is facing 13 charges in the workplace fatality.
On Nov. 18, 2023, the man was clearing a blockage from a wood chipping machine at the lumber mill when he was fatally struck.
The worker was using a pike pole to clear an obstruction from a canter machine when the pole came in contact with the energized rotating side heads of the machine.
The pike pole — a large hooked pole commonly used in wood products manufacturing to clear jams — was ejected from the machine, striking and fatally injuring the worker.
The charges, laid on March 31, include a series of infractions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, including a failure to ensure the safety and welfare of a worker, a failure to ensure the worker was adequately trained and for allowing a worker to clear a blockage in a machine without shutting it down.
Grande Prairie is about 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
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